Matt Rye
Matt Rye 'is the main protagonist of the ''Someone Else series, a Vault Hunter with an ability called 'Chronokinesis, '''which allows him to control time at will. He explains this as a manipulation of the time-stream through the control of the red end of the Infinity Spectrum. Maya described it as a "Siren-level ability". Matt gave himself the title of "the Anomaly" based on its abnormal status as a half-Siren, which Lilith adamantly claims should be impossible. The Anomaly frequently questioned the world around him, with a struggling morality bolstered by the death of his sister. Childhood Matt was born on the war-torn planet of Darios, shortly after a treaty, or as he believed, a "non-aggression pact", formed between the multiple governments that ran the various continents of Darios. He was born to a lawyer, Deborah, and a police officer, Nicholas. Much like other higher-class families, the Rye family lived on the continent of Krolantia in its central leisure hive, Acropolis. Matt was mostly confined to the city as the stretches beyond the city were largely barren, due to the countless wars the planet suffered from. As a result, Matt was cut off from most of the outside world, and was only allowed to experience simulations with it, using the virtual reality technology in the city. His parents refused to pay him or his sister sufficient attention, and relegated their care to swift and impersonal responses, rather than parental care. They didn't bat much of an eye towards them, instead allowing them to do their own thing, not necessarily caring what they got up to unless it might end up killing them. At such a young age, and because they didn't see them often enough, it was difficult for the two to gain opinions of their parents. Although, Matt later speculated that they were forced not to pay attention to them, as they wanted to provide them with the best possible future financially, and that they were at least concerned in keeping them alive. Matt and his sister Amelia became very close over the years, due to his parent's neglectful treatment of him. He was forced to grow up fast so that he could raise Amelia himself, but at the cost of his own wellbeing - which he was more than willing to give up. Amelia consistently worried that her very existence was worsening Matt's health. Finding the Ravine A curious being who hated being cooped up in their fancy penthouse, Amelia frequently sneaked out of Acropolis to the accessible borders of Krolantia. On one particular day when he was eight and his sister was six, Matt accompanied her across the barren valleys of the small continent. He initially believed the exploration was pointless, as there was nothing to find, but he could never gain the wherewithal to talk down to his sister about it. Truthfully, he liked a bit of adventure himself. While looking through a small glacial trough, Amelia and Matt spot a small creature, which confused both of them as the area was largely populated by flora. Identifying the creature as a Futarian Goblin, a lizard that reportedly went extinct years prior. Curious, the Darosians chase after it, through the valleys, after realising that the Goblin must have some suitable source of food to survive. The valley gave way to a small spring around a mile across, completely intact, despite how the continent had previously been decimated by weaponry. Both of them notice the small river running through it, where animals feasted and drank. Astounded, Matt and Amelia decide to enjoy this discovery, and mess about with the water, before finally resting down and reveling in the experience. After a conversation about the possibility of more springs existing on Darios, Amelia briefly mentioned that "the only water in the forest is the river", a mantra his sister would use to communicate with him. The ravine was later destroyed when government nationalists tried to regenerate the area, but ended up accelerating auxin production unevenly within the plants, resulting in them growing incorrectly. Teenager Years Training Recognising that the treaty between the Darosian governments were beginning to break down, Matt realised that his family and way of life was in jeopardy, since leisure hives were more likely to be targeted in event of war, generally as an act of independence and proof of how far other governments would go to win the war. Not wanting his sister to be hurt, Matt spent his teenager years training his fighting skills and gun proficiency, often joining Tediore military introduction programs to gain some perspective on military combat and tactics. While Amelia herself objected to Matt's calling, the Anomaly ensured her that he intended to return no matter what and that he was doing it save her from conflict. He was later proven correct when the treaty completely dissolved, and the governments went into war. Joining the Krolantian Military Order At the turn of 16, Matt became of age to join the KMO, the military service of Krolantia. Training was especially difficult for him, despite his prior military experience, as his mentor recognised his potential and so began pushing him further than his limits. Due to the Order's hapless incompetency, many of Matt went through many near-death experiences where many times he genuinely believed the only way to achieve victory was to die in the process. The fact that he was one of the youngest ever recruits additionally made every mission feel more like suicide. Many KMO assignments went south very quickly, and full-scale battles took extreme precision to win. Stalemate was highly probable, due to both sides possessing the same technology, which they had attained during a treaty period. KMO advised against compromises, believing fiercely through the motto they coined that "stalemate is a compromise". Rather, they believed soldiers should fight until their dying breath, because it was 'right' to die for a good cause, in the same vein of ''dulce et decorum est. Matt frequently quarreled with his mentor over this belief, because he saw it as encouraging pyrrhic victories, which would ultimately null the point of an army to begin with. Gemini involvement Towards the end of Matt's time with the Krolantian Military Order, he had begun to make a name for himself, both on the planet and other planets in his solar system. As such, he attracted the attention of Gemini, whom believed his extensive military service made him an ideal candidate for employment within the corporation. Gemini intervened with the civil war on Darios, bringing it to an end by negotiating a new treaty under improved laws and additional conditions to follow. Within hours of the corporation broadcasting the new truce across the planet, all the governments replied with a cease fire. As a result, Matt had no reason to continue his service with the KMO, so he left the Order and returned home to his sister. Once the Anomaly returned home, Gemini contacted him for employment. They claimed that he had earned a significant reputation for himself and offered him a high salary under the basis that he be prepared to be away from his family often. Matt initially refused, arguing that he had no intention of continuing in the military, as he had only done it to keep his sister safe. It was then that Gemini promised him that they would protect his family and provide them enough money to survive, and showed him proof that his parents' income would not be bale to provide for them much longer. Coerced, Matt joined Gemini as a covert special ops officer. Meeting Axton and the Bomb Matt soon realised that Gemini was a lot more effective than the KMO, however he found it difficult to keep up with the older veterans of the corporation. Training was extensive, but he managed to succeed in impressing several of his compatriots, and he soon became known as one of the most effective spec-ops soldier in the past few decades. Eventually, Matt was upgraded to a higher regiment. There, he met Axton, the Commando, who was acting as Gemini's Dahl liaison. They worked together several times, until eventually Axton recommended him for the Gemini Vault Hunter Training Program, so that he would be moved to the proper Vault Hunter regiment. Before this happened though, both of them were tasked with secure a Maliwan warehouse and diffuse the bomb inside. Axton was given the role of diffusing the bomb, while Matt secured the perimeter. However, the Commando found that the bomb was too complex to diffuse, so instead warned his ally to get as far from the building as possible. Gemini operatives prevented him for going after him, resulting in the bomb exploded which leveled the building. Matt survived, but Axton was believed dead for two months. Becoming a Vault Hunter When Matt turned 18, he entered the Gemini Vault Hunter Training Program, but took several breaks to visit his family. Unfortunately, when he returned home, many of the citizens of Acropolis had grown to hate him, due to their major distrust of corporate entities like Gemini. While the corporation had brought in the recent era of peace, many citizens began to suspect that they had some ulterior motive for doing this, as other corporations seldom took notice of the civil wars on Darios. Towards the end of the training program, Matt drew the attention of Hyperion, due to his alarmingly effective missions and skill. They initially demanded the pre-Vault Hunter for themselves, claiming that they could train them better. Gemini refused their partner's offer, as they wanted to keep the young potential for themselves. At the culmination of his training, Matt became a fully-fledged Vault Hunter, at age 18. He pursued this career for several months, and was moved to the Vault Hunter regiment to work with. When faced with the decision of a Vault Hunter title, Matt chose the title of 'the Anomaly, ''given how his status as entirely basically human (with no identifiable action skill) was strange among his compatriots, whom possessed unnatural abilities, yet he was still able to keep up with them - greatly impressing Commander Sharp. The Death of Amelia Rye Eventually, Hyperion apparently grew bitter at Gemini's reluctance to hand the Anomaly over, so they chose to kidnap him for a project: the Genisys Project. On a return trip to his home in Acropolis, Hyperion sent an assassin to tail him. When he got home, the assassin followed and attacked both him and his sister. The assassin was given orders to make it seem as though he intended to kill Matt, and as such shot at him several times. Ultimately, the assassin shot Amelia through the head intentionally (although he made it seem otherwise), killing her instantly, right in front of Matt. Matt, stricken with grief and shock, was easily subdued and kidnapped. The Genisys Project Matt was taken to Helios, presumably, whereupon he was experimented on with saws and lasers to augment his physicality to beyond human capabilities. He witnessed the deaths of countless other test subjects, whom Hyperion only viewed as collateral. Matt was unable to do anything but watch. Hyperion used Angel's blood, infused with a mysterious type of energy, to alter Matt's DNA at a cellular level, granting him Siren powers in the process, and becoming a Siren-human hybrid. This granted him the power of Chronokinesis, and allowed him to tap into the Infinite. Before Hyperion could implement any brainwashing, he escaped. Blinded by his fury and trauma, the Anomaly slaughtered the entirety of Sub-Level Thirteen of Helios. Finding Home Upon escaping from Hyperion's clutches, Matt immediately left for Darios, stowing away from a one-passenger hypership and warping home. He went to find his parents in Acropolis, however once they found him, they rejected him and blamed him for Amelia's death, going as far as to disown their own son. They expelled him from Acropolis, before demanded he leave the planet. Aided by a significantly large mob, Matt was forced to leave Darios and find somewhere else to live. He used his small hypership to quickly warp across the solar system, from Darios to Atrios-6, considered the Darosian "cousin" planet. A stranger among the citizens, Matt was able to blend in without the baggage of his past, and avoid judgement of others. At some point after settling on Atrios-6, the Anomaly met a woman who also claimed to be a Vault Hunter. Her name was Aurora Lux, who he recognised as a member of the primary regiment of Gemini's Vault Hunters. Aurora relented at this, and informed him she had been relegated to a lower echelon of the corporation, following an incident on a mission where two Vault Hunters were killed. The remaining Vault Hunters forced her down from Vault Hunter to spec-ops, at the same time Matt moved up from spec-ops to Vault Hunter. She was ordered to take a leave of absence on Atrios-6, her home. The two of them quickly became friends as they worked to earn enough money for Matt to get a proper home, and for Aurora to get her own, rather than living with her parents. Gemini eventually found the both of them and offered them a place as Vault Hunters once again, absolved of any and all wrongdoings and thus given a clean slate. Annoyed that Gemini considered the Genisys Project to be his fault, Matt initially refused, but Aurora convinced him to join under the basis that they both be provided a home. Commander Sharp, the header of the offer, agreed and offered them a permanent home at the Gemini main space station, the CCG. Agreeing, Matt and Aurora were transported to the CCG, and underwent training and therapy to return them back to suitable health. Both of them were assigned to Matt's previous regiment, consisting of Caine Brooke, Duke Minoosh, Violet Parker, Arcturus Vaus and Aurora's cousin, Daniel Marx. Final Months of Gemini Service Matt continued to work for Gemini, using his new ability of Chronokinesis to achieve an edge over his allies. Intrigued by the power, Gemini spent months researching and experimenting with Matt's powers, trying to discover the root of the ability. Eventually, they discovered a new form of energy, which Matt expelled from his body when using Chronokinesis, although they did not know the origin of this energy or how or why he could release it. His increase in power drew the attention of Caine Brooke, who was initially believed to be the most powerful Vault Hunter of the regiment. Caine grew a severe dislike towards the Anomaly, due to his egocentric attitude causing him to think Matt was below him, despite the fact that their missions proved otherwise. Frustrated, Caine declared Matt as his rival and that he would do everything to outdo him. Axton's Return It was during this time, that Gemini found Axton on Divaloca, alive and well. They informed Matt of this, but proceeded to tell him that the Commando had turned against the corporation, and intended to destroy it, likely from the inside - until Gemini realised his betrayal. Believing strongly that Axton was a danger to both himself and others, Matt went to bring the Commando him, or kill him if absolutely necessary. Upon finding him, Matt attacked Axton and tried to subdue him. During the fight, the Commando attempted to convince the Anomaly that Gemini had been deceiving him, and that they intended to use his Chronokinesis to subjugate the galaxy and take it over in an attempt to "unify" the four sectors of the galaxy. Matt refused to believe this, arguing that Gemini was the only family he'd ever known since the death of his sister, and that he did not want to lose what he'd developed over the previous year. Realising that Matt's trauma had justifiably made him delusional, Axton gave up trying to convince him and instead began planning his escape. He used the Anomaly's ECHOear against him by activating a short-wavelength vibration burst from his turret that was picked up by the ECHOear and amplified in the Vault Hunter's ear. Collapsing from the noise, Matt was unable to pursue after Axton as he escaped. A New Vault Following Axton's disappearance from the Gemini Sub-Wave Frequency, which they used to communicate and as radar, the corporation turned their attentions towards a new discovery. Months later, Matt was informed that Gemini had reason to believe that a third Vault lay secretly on Pandora, and that they wanted to find it under the nose of Hyperion and the resistance known as the Crimson Raiders. The Anomaly was subsequently given further teaching on the history of Vaults, mainly that this new Vault was believed to be unlike the latter two on the planet, and undetectable from almost every means of tracking. Commander Sharp refused to explain to Matt how they came about this information. When he suggested they try to get help from the Vault Hunters who found the other two Vaults, Gemini lied to him and claimed that all the Vault Hunters were long-dead, and that the Vaults had actually been hunted and vanquished centuries prior. According to the corporation, no more Vault Hunters remained on Pandora. Once the Anomaly realised the endless possibilities of using the technology and knowledge within the Vault, and wondered what exactly Gemini intended to do with it. Leaving Gemini After the Genisys Project, small seeds of doubt and distrust formed within the Anomaly's mind, as he questioned why Gemini refused to pay the ransom Hyperion was bargaining for to return Matt safely and opted to allow him to be experimented on, before claiming the incident was Matt's fault. These feelings were only bolstered after his fight with Axton. Over the months, Matt began to have exceedingly suspicious concerns about Gemini, as he slowly began to digest and re-evaluate what the Commando had said to him. The final straw came when Matt accessed a restricted file in the CCG database, and he discovered that Gemini wanted to take over the universe and enforce a new regime where they would run the whole galaxy under one single government. Realising that they intended to use the Vault to aid in their galactic conquest, Matt resolved to get to the Vault before Gemini did. Aware that Gemini would not let Matt leave, he chose to stow away on a spare hypership in the CCG flight bay, using his Chronokinesis to avoid cameras. Before the Anomaly did this, Matt informed his best friend, Aurora, of his intention to leave. Angry and confused, Aurora begged him not to leave, but the Anomaly claimed to her it wasn't a choice, it was is duty to prevent Gemini from succeeding in their machinations. Aurora stormed off but ultimately decided not to stop him. As a result, the Anomaly left for Pandora, only to be pursued by his rival, Caine Brooke. Exploration of Pandora Searching the Continents Several months before his 21st birthday, Matt began exploring Pandora, searching for the Vault using tracking software that Gemini developed, called Vault Instincts. Matt was forced to move around quickly, lest Caine find him and forcibly return him to Gemini. Supposedly, the Anomaly found at least one of the prior Vaults, although which one he never specified, and this likely was why he was able to figure out how to open Vaults, when Gemini did not teach him. Eventually, the Vault Hunter narrowed down his search to northwest coast of Pandora, sector NV0C 12o 21e. Arriving on the coast of the Highlands, close to Opportunity, Matt worked his way towards Overlook, where he met Karima. Karima introduced him to area, which he thanked her for. He even met Mick Zaford, who was still infuriated by his destroyed distillery. After trying one of the last pints of beer remaining, the Anomaly decided to help him and ultimately rebuilds the distillery for him. Helping out Karima Offering him a large wad of cash, Karima asked the Anomaly to hunt some Stalkers and cut their tails off, which she intended to use for experimentation. Although disapproving of such abuse, Matt understood the cause and accepted the task. Positioning himself above Blake's Bridge, the Anomaly sniped down several Stalkers with his Volcano rifle. Paying attention to the Stalkers' impressions on the ground while they were invisible, the Anomaly managed to kill off the rest in rapid succession. Believing the coast to be clear, Matt slowly got up to collect the tails on the Stalkers, however unbeknownst to him, a Badass Pyre Thresher was nearby. The Thresher rose out of the ground behind him, breaking though the stone, and promptly used its tentacles to propel him off the hill and onto the road below. Health severely depleted, the Anomaly hastily shot back at the Thresher with a different weapon, using his Chronokinesis to dodge some of the fiery projectiles at it. The Anomaly successfully defeated the Thresher, although he was severely wounded. Matt cut the tails of the Stalkers, before limping through the tunnel towards Overlook to find a hypo to heal his injuries, as he had ran out of them at the time. Returning to Overlook, the Anomaly restocked his supply of hypos and bandages, before handing in the five Stalker tails to Karima. Karima then explained that she intended to use the tails to better understand how the creatures are able to cloak, in hopes she can replicate this feature in Overlook's shield, allowing the settlement to turn invisible and thus avoid the targeting systems of Helios's moonshots. Call from Caine Happy with himself, Matt decided he needed a beer. So, he visited Mick Zaford's bar, the Lucky Spirits, who greeted him wholeheartedly with a drink from his replenished distillery. Zaford thanked Matt for his help in restoring his clan's famed bar back to stable growth, but the Anomaly brushed it off as him just doing a duty. While finishing his drink, Matt was alerted to a phone call on his ECHO, and he recognised who the caller was. Promptly, the Anomaly excused himself and went to the bathroom. Exasperated, the Vault Hunter warned the caller that the call was pointless, since anything Matt knew, the caller would know. The caller revealed himself to be Caine Brooke, Matt's rival, and pompously stated that the Vault was his and that ''his ''Vault Instincts would lead him to the Vault faster than Matt, before ending the call as quickly as it began. Meeting the Crimson Raiders Helping Gaige Matt left the Lucky Spirits bar following the call from Caine, deciding that he should get a move on and not waste any time. He then pondered over the possibility that Gemini's claim that all Vault Hunters were dead on Pandora could be false, but had no real reason to believe they would lie about it, since it was to more than just him, and up until that point, Gemini had only lied to him specifically. Proceeding towards the Catch-A-Ride, which yelled at him Scooter's many catchphrases, Matt digistructed a vehicle and climbed inside. However, he was prevented from leaving when he heard the inane yells of a Psycho coming from the Stalker nest nearby. Upon looking into the nest from above, the Anomaly saw numerous bandits circling around a redheaded girl in the corner. Matt jumped down and activated his Chronokinesis, slowing down time as the bandits shot at and threw projectiles at the girl. The Anomaly shoot the first few Marauders in the head, and then bludgeoned the remaining three Psychos to death with their own buzzaxe. He then dispatched the Nomad with his own gun and disposed of the Golliath using his own helmet. After that, the Vault Hunter snapped the necks of the two remaining Marauders (one normal and one Elite) and finally caught the bullets flying through the air and dropped them to the ground. Spotting a stray bullet about to hit the girl, Matt rushed towards the bullet and caught it mere millimetres away from her eye. Stunned, she was unable to inform Matt if she was OK, as he asked, and instead dropped to the ground and cried out in pain. Matt inspected her wound, finding a large piece of shrapnel in her leg, and telling her he would need a few hypos to heal them. He produced a few spare hypos from his pocket, and injected them into her as an anaesthetic and blood clot accelerator, and then slowly pulled out the piece of shrapnel in her leg. The red-haired girl thanked him for his help, and Matt questioned her on how she managed to get a piece of shrapnel in her leg, and got bandits chasing after her in a location largely devoid of bandits. Abashed, she explained that she led the bandits into the Highlands from the Dust, in vehicles which proceeded to blow up in her face. Matt finished up the bandages on her leg and introduced himself. Pleased, the girl responded that her name was Gaige, to which the Anomaly smiled and said that was a nice name. The Anomaly then noticed the Vault Hunter symbol on her belt, and demanded her explain herself; he told her that all Vault Hunters were meant to be dead, as the Gemini Corporation claimed. Gaige replied and told him confidently that this was a lie, and that Vault Hunters were very much alive. Arriving in Sanctuary After explaining his Chronokinesis, and briefly its origins, Gaige offered to take him to Sanctuary, the last bastion of the resistance, to meet the Vault Hunters that were based there. Personality Traumatised by both the copious experimentation from Hyperion and the death of his sister, Matt suffered from PTSD after extreme grief overwhelmed him as he blamed himself for her death. His parents disowning him only added to this. It took years before he finally got over the trauma. The Anomaly is very intelligent, though not known for it, and grasps very complicated subjects and is a natural when it comes to technology. He was able to successfully complete the Bypass set to be fully operational, while many mechanics at Gemini could not. He is also well aware of the applications of his Chronokinesis, and uses all aspects of it to his advantage. Matt exhibits an extreme desire to protect those he is close to, leading to his assumed death during the Friendship Gulag incident in which he willingly let himself be blown up so that his friends might escape. He survived this incident but was thought dead for a month. When the Anomaly returned, he immediately jumped to protect Gaige, his girlfriend, and aided the Vault Hunters in defeating Caine when he attacked Sanctuary with his Gemini Vault Hunter allies. The Anomaly is very supportive of his friends, but is much wiser than any of them. Due to his connection to Sirens, he has somewhat to a capacious bank of knowledge which he can draw from instinctively to guide his movements and actions. Despite this, he does not underestimate those around him and fully believes that anyone can gain power if they try hard enough and that everyone has the right to experience it.Category:Vault Hunters Category:Characters